3 Pennies And A Dream

Agnes had 3 pennies.  She also had a dream of doing something significant with her life.  How on earth was she going to realize her dreams with only 3 pennies?  What could she do with so little? 

Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu felt called to ministry as a young girl and went through ministerial training in Ireland and India.  When she graduated from her training her heart was “on fire” with a burning passion to serve God and love people.  One day she approached her superiors and announced, “I have three pennies and a dream from God to build an orphanage.”  Her superiors could not believe what they were hearing!  After laughing at her, they said, “You can’t build an orphanage with three pennies.  With three pennies you can’t do anything.”  Agnes just smiled and replyed, “I know.  But with God and three pennies I can do anything!”

For fifty years this woman worked among the poorest of the poor in Calcutta, India.  We know Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu as Mother Teresa who endeared herself to thousands of people.  She literally gave her life away in sacrifcial love to others.  Mother Teresa did not have the “material” things that many have today, but she had a passion which gave her life meaning and direction.  The impact of her love and kindness impacted millions around the world!

She only had 3 pennies and a dream that burned in her heart.  That was enough!  She felt the hand of God was upon her life and He would open up the way, and provide all she needed.  She would not be deterred by negative voices, or meagre resources.  She would instead place the dream, and the passion, in the hands of God and let Him work things out for His glory.  We can learn from that.  Let God be God!  Trust Him to be your provider, your guide, your strength.  Let Him work out the dreams that He has placed in your heart.  He knows what’s best!  He knows how to bring it about! 

“To him who believes all things are possible.”     Mark 9:23

Jon is 29!

Today is our oldest son’s birthday!  Jon is 29.  He was born during a snowy February in 1980.  We’ve had a great time celebrating his birthday today.  Jon and I played some baseball out in the back yard this afternoon, and tonight we all enjoyed some delicious ice cream cake from Cold Stone Creamery!  Yum!  Yum!  (I think there’s some left over.)

It is so rewarding to see how Jon is growing into a great young man with many talents and leadership abilities.  Jon has been spending the last several weeks writing some new music and doing some recording.  He’s hoping to put together an EP with 5 or 6 songs on it.  It will be nice to hear when he’s finished.  I appreciate so much Jon’s positive attitude in life and his sincere desire to make a difference in this world.  I know he has already impacted many lives with his faith and contagious spirit.

Happy Birthday, Jon, we’re so proud of you!

What Picture Do You Have of Yourself?

Victor Serebriakoff as a young man was told by one of his teachers, “You’re a dunce!”  As he went through school that image stuck in his mind.  Everytime he looked at himself, thought about what he would do in life, how others would receive him–he thought of those stinging words, “dunce”.  Over time that’s how he began thinking of himself!

Leaving school, Serebriakoff went out into the work force trying to make some kind of living for himself, but never believing that he had the intelligence or abilities to do anything.  He worked small jobs as an office clerk and itenerent laborer for many years.

As World War II came along, Serebriakoff was called to report for a psychological evaluation and testing.  When the testing was completed he was given the unbelievable news, “Victor Serebriakoff, you’re no dunce–you’re a genius!”  Yes, his score showed him to have an IQ of 161!

Wow, did the picture he have of himself change!  No longer did he see a dunce when he looked into the mirror–he was a genius!  And, he began to think of himself as a genius, act like a genius, and perform like a genius.  Over the rest of his lifetime he wrote a number of books, headed up many successful business ventures, and gave leadership to very prestigious organizations.    All because his picture of himself changed! 

You see, Serebriakoff had the IQ, the information, the knowledge to think well and creative all the time.  But he had the wrong picture of himself!  When the picture of himself changed, his life changed!  Do you realize that the picture you have of yourself is significantly important to how you think of yourself, how you see yourself, and how you perform in life?  Many people never achieve their dreams, and realize success in their lives because the picture they have of themselves is so menial, self-defacing, and self-defeating.  They see themselves as a “dunce” who will never acheive anything, or be a success at anything.

Change the picture, change the person!  Each of us can experience this kind of change in our lives when we turn over control of our lives to Jesus Christ!  In Jesus, we can find unconditional love and acceptance…forgiveness for our past mistakes…courage for our present struggles….peace in the midst of our unsettling anxieties.  Jesus sees deep within us and knows the potential that is in each of our lives because of the talents and abilities He’s placed there.  

If you’ve been struggling with poor self image; beating yourself up over past failures; never believing that you can acheive the dreams that lie deep in your heart–why not let Jesus bring His refreshing grace to your life!  He can change the picture you have of yourself!  You can make a difference in your world!

Earning A Paycheck, or Building A Career?

A number of years ago there was a large cathedral being constructed.  This massive cathedral was being built at a great cost, and with a great number of workers.  One day someone from the press went to interview several of the workers at the site.  Here’s how three of the workers responded when asked about this huge construction project– The first worker said, “I’m just here because I can make $8.50 an hour”; the second worker said, “Listen, all I do is show up, keep my nose clean, and put in my time”; and the third worker responded, “I’m here to use my gifts to build a great cathedral for the glory of God.”  Wow!  What a difference of perspective!

Many people start out in their career with tremendous excitement, enthusiasm, and passion.  They love everybody they work with, they love what they are doing, and they throw themselves into their work with total abandon.  However, over time, their enthusiam diminishes, the stresses of the job get to them, and they’ve forgotten the dreams that once filled their hearts.  Too many people today merely are at their job “earning a paycheck”, rather than building a career!  They have joined the “rat race of numbing robots” who merely show up, put in their time, and then go home to tragically repeat this process day-after-day.

God has gifted each of us with special abilities and talents that can make a difference in people’s lives!  He does not want us merely working for a paycheck–but growing and developing into people who can make a difference in our world!  There are many people who are merely working for wages, rather than building a platform for achieving goals and dreams that will change our world. 

What are you doing to grow as an individual?  What classes, courses, conferences, CDs, or DVDs are you watching to develop and sharpen your skills?  What mentors are you spending time with to broaden your visison and abilities?  Don’t get stuck in the rut of ”just showing up to work and going through the motions”–step back, take a deep breath, thank God for where you are and the abilities that you have, and determine that you will do all you can to build a lasting career that will impact the lives of those around you!

Happy Anniversary, Journey Church!

It was a year ago TODAY that we launched Journey Church in Evansville, Indiana.  What a morning!  I can still vividly remember the excitement and anticipation as we unloaded the trailer with all of our equipment and set up worship in the gymnasium of the YMCA, and Journey Kidz in the classrooms off the main lobby area.  Our ministry teams did such a fantastic job!  It warms my heart to think of the dedication and devotion that our volunteers gave to planting this new congregation.

Unfortunately, Journey had to close it’s doors at the end of May.  Despite it’s short mission, Journey did reach over 70 new people, saw 4 people commit their lives to Christ, and did make an important contribution to the Evansville community.  It was with deep sadness that we said, “Goodbye”, to Journey Church and it’s ministry.

Today, I want to THANK THE LORD for the precious memories of Journey Church and that special day a year ago when the ‘dream came true’!  Journey Church came about through lots of planning, prayers, sacrifice, and hard work.  I know that we learned many valuable lessons through this experience that will enable us to be more effective servants for Jesus Christ in the years to come.  Although we may not always understand why things happen the way  they do, we can rest assured in God’s faithfulness to take everything in our lives and “work them for good.”  I am so glad that God used our lives for that special moment in time, and look forward to many more opportunities of sharing Jesus Christ with others!  That is what I love to do, and that is what I want to stay passionate about!

“So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord’s work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”        1 Corinithians 15:58

1000 Wins! Amazing!

The other evening Pat Summitt’s Tennessee team beat Georgia, 73-43, for her 1,000th win as a head basketball coach.  There is no other coach in NCAA history who has reached this mark!  Amazing!  It’s definitely an incredible accomplishment when you stop and really think about what she has accomplished.

In many of the interviews following this historic win, a number of other coaches shared what they thought were “keys” to her success as a coach and a leader.  I want to list some of them for us to consider:

          (1) Commitment to excellence   (2) Play hard and play together   (3)Stay focused on your goals   (4) Work on building character and values, not just basketball skills   (5) Push through adversity   (6) Stretch yourself to reach your highest potential   (7) Take advantage of opportunities when they come your way   (8) Have fun while you play.

These are all wonderful “keys to sucess”.  The road has not always been easy for Pat Summitt and her basketball teams through the years.  But, through consistency and strong leadership, she has modeled a “winning spirit”!  Every championship team always begins in one’s heart!

I hope that in whatever field, career, or leadership position you find yourself in today, you will commit yourself to pushing hard, stretching, learning, and developing yourself to your highest God-given potential!  You are a winner!  You are important!  Others need your gifts and talents.  Others are longing for the leadership that you can give.  Fight through your adversities…your disappointments…your failures….your setbacks…and give it your all!  Develop a winning attitude in life and be a blessing to others!

“So don’t get tired of doing what is good.  Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.”         Galatians 6:9

 

Super Bowl XLIII

This year’s Super Bowl will go down as one of the most amazing Super Bowl finishes in history!  In the 4th quarter it looked like Pittsburgh was going to defeat Arizona until Kurt Warner connected on a pass to Larry Fitzgerald for a stunning touchdown with 2:30 left in the game.  Score:  Arizona 23  Pittsburgh 20.

But, Pittsburgh and Ben Roethlisberger were not to be outdone.  With just two minutes left in the game, “Big Ben” engineered an amazing drive that took Pittsburgh down the field.  The drive ended with Roethlisberger hitting Santonio Holmes (the Super Bowl MVP) in the end zone for the winning touchdown with 35 seconds to play!  Final Score:  Pittsburgh 27  Arizona 23.

This Super Bowl win was the 6th for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the most of any NFL team.  It was a game to remember!